Round and round the garden 
Like a teddy bear. 
One step, two step, 
Tickle you under there. 

Alternative Lyrics: 

Round about there 
Sat a little hare 
The bow-wows came and chased him 
Right up there. 

Hints and Tips: 

• The nursery rhyme is accompanied by various actions, by the adult on the child or the child on the adult. The child/adult first lightly strokes his or her index finger in slow circles around the child/adult's upturned palm, then with each "step", walks their index and middle finger up the arm, firstly to the elbow and then to the shoulder. Finally after a short pause before the "tickle", they launch a (not unexpected) tickle under the arm.
• Poster for this nursery rhyme can be found in the Printables section on this site. See: Rhymes Posters

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man. 
Bake me a cake as fast as you can; 

Roll it, Pat it and mark it with B, 
Put it in the oven for baby and me. 

Alternative Lyrics: 

Patty cake, patty cake, baker's man. 
Bake me a cake as fast as you can; 

Roll it up, roll it up; 
And throw it in a pan! 

Patty cake, patty cake, baker's man. 

Alternative Lyrics: 

Patty cake, patty cake, baker's man.
Bake me a cake as fast as you can;

Roll it up, roll it up;
Put it in a pan;
And toss it in the oven as fast as you can!

Alternative Lyrics:

Patty Cake, Patty Cake,
Baker's Man;
That I will Master,
As fast as I can;

Prick it and prick it,
And mark it with a T,
And there will be enough for Tommy and me.

Hints and Tips:

• If told by a parent to a child, the "B" and "baby" in the last two lines are sometimes replaced by the child's first initial and first name.
• The rhyme is often accompanied by hand-clapping between two people, a clapping game. It alternates between a normal individual clap with two-handed claps with the other person. The hands may be crossed as well.
• Poster of this nursery rhyme can be found in the Printables section on this site. See: Rhymes Posters

Miss Polly had a dolly 
Who was sick, sick, sick! 

So she called for the Doctor, 
To come quick, quick, quick! 

The Doctor came 
with his (her) bag and his (her) hat, 
And he (she) knocked on the door 
With a Rat-a – tat – tat! 

He (she) looked at the dolly, 
And he (she) shook his (her) head, 
And he (she) said “Miss Polly put her straight to bed!” 

He (she) wrote on a paper
For a pill, pill, pill,
"I’ll be back in the morning
With the bill, bill, bill!"

Alternative:

(Optional Last Paragraph)

She went to bed,
And she slept all night,
And she woke up in the morning,
Feeling quite alright!

Alternatives:

• Alternate this line "I’ll be back in the morning With the bill, bill, bill!" to "I’ll be back in the morning yes I will, will, will!"
• Alternate this line "I’ll be back in the morning With the bill, bill, bill!" to "I’ll be back in the morning if she still feels ill!?"
• Can use "Miss Milly" instead of "Miss Polly"

Hints and Tips:

• The actions are very simple:

Miss Polly rocks the dolly looking concerned, she mimes telephoning the Doctor. The Doctor taps his hat and shows his bag, and knocks on the door (or the floor will do!) He looks at the dolly, shakes his head, and wags his finger as he gives his advice to Miss Polly. He takes out his notebook and does a little bit of ‘writing’ to tell Miss Polly what type of medicine the dolly needs. He waves and leaves. Miss Polly then looks very happy because the dolly is feeling much better in the morning!

• Poster of this nursery rhyme can be found in the Printables section on this site. See: Rhymes Posters

I'm a little teapot, short and stout 
Here is my handle here is my spout 
When I get all steamed up, hear me shout 
Just tip me over and pour me out! 

I'm a clever teapot, yes it's true 
Here's an example of what I can do 
I can change my handle to my spout 
Just tip me over and pour me out. 

Hints and Tips:

• Use the following actions with the nursery rhyme:

Line #2: (one hand on hip), (other arm out straight)

Line #4: (As song ends, lean over and tip arm out like a spout.)

Line #7: (Switch arm positions and repeat tipping motion.)

• Poster of this nursery rhyme can be found in the Printables section on this site. See: Rhymes Posters

This Australian song with actions, it's about a man who loves and is proud of his home, the country he lives in and the relaxed lifestyle of Australia.  It also has a set of mime actions accompanying the chorus

Heads, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes 
Heads, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes 
and eyes and ears and mouth and nose, 
Heads, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes! 

Alternative Lyrics: 

Heads and shoulders knees and toes 
Knees and toes
Heads and shoulders knees and toes 
Knees and toes
And eyes and ears And mouth and nose
Heads and shoulders knees and toes 
Knees and toes

Feet and tummies arms and chins
Arms and chins
Feet and tummies arms and chins
Arms and chins

And eyes and ears
And mouth and shins
Feet and tummies arms and chins
Arms and chins

Hands and fingers legs and lips
Legs and lips
Hands and fingers legs and lips
Legs and lips

And eyes and ears
And mouth and hips
Hands and fingers legs and lips
Legs and lips

(Repeat the first verse)

Hints and Tips:

• An action song - touch head, shoulders, knees and toes etc. in sequence while singing each word.
• Poster of this nursery rhyme can be found in the Printables section on this site. See: Rhymes Posters

Five little speckled frogs

Sat on a speckled log

Eating the most delicious grubs

One jumped into the pool

Where it was nice and cool

Then there were four green speckled frogs.

(The verse is then repeated, but with one fewer frog each time.)

Alternative Lyrics:

Five dumb speckled frogs

Sitting on a speckled log

Eating some some scum (Yum, yum!)

One little speckled frog

Fell off the speckled log

Now there's only four dumb speckled frogs (Glub, glub!)

Hints and Tips:

• There are actions that allow children to participate during the song.

Line #1: By show of fingers hold up the number of frogs sitting on the log.
Line #2: Draw in your hands close to your chest and curl your fingers downward, facing the floor as though you are a frog perched atop a log.
Line #3: Mimic eating while you sing 'Eating some scum', then rub your belly delightfully while singing 'yum, yum!'.
Line #4: Hold one finger up to represent the frog who fell off the log.
Line #5: Pretend to fall over.
Line #6: By a show of fingers, hold up the number of frogs still remaining on the log while singing "Now there's only four speckled frogs". Upon singing "(glub, glub)", repeat the same movement as in the second line except look upward as though you were a frog underneath water.

• Poster of this nursery rhyme can be found in the Printables section on this site. See: Rhymes Posters

The wheels on the bus go round and round (Roll hands over each other) 
Round and round, round and round 
The wheels on the bus go round and round 
All through the town. 

The wipers on the bus go "Swish, swish, swish, (Put arms together in front of you and'swish' like wind shield wipers)
Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish" 
The wipers on the bus go "Swish, swish, swish" 
All through the town. 

The door on the bus goes open and shut (Cover eyes with hands on 'shut' and uncover them on 'open')
Open and shut, open and shut
The door on the bus goes open and shut
All through the town.

The horn on the bus goes "Beep, beep, beep (Pretend to honk horn)
Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep"
The horn on the bus goes "Beep, beep, beep"
All through the town.

The gas on the bus goes "Glug, glug, glug (Pretend to fill tank using pointer finger as gas nozzle)
Glug, glug, glug, glug, glug, glug"
The gas on the bus goes "Glug, glug, glug"
All through the town.

The money on the bus goes "Clink, clink, clink, (Pretend to put money in cash box on bus)
Clink, clink, clink, clink, clink, clink"
The money on the bus goes "Clink, clink, clink"
All through the town.

The baby on the bus says, "Wah, wah, wah! (Fisted hands in front of eyes and rub them like baby crying)
Wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah!"
The baby on the bus says, "Wah, wah, wah!"
All through the town.

The people on the bus say, "Shh, shh, shh, (Put pointer finger to mouth to 'shhh')
Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh"
The people on the bus say, "Shh, shh, shh"
All through the town.

The mommy on the bus says, "I love you, (Point to self on 'I',right hand over heart on 'love', and point to other on 'you')
I love you, I love you"
The daddy on the bus says, "I love you, too"
All through the town.

Alternative Lyrics:

The Driver on the bus says "Move on back,
move on back, move on back;"
The Driver on the bus says "Move on back",
All through the town.

OR

The mommy on the bus says "Shush, shush, shush;
Shush, shush, shush; Shush, shush, shush."
"The mommy on the bus says "Shush, shush, shush"
All through the town.

OR

The bell on the bus goes ding-ding-ding.
The lady on the bus says, "Get off my feet"...
The people on the bus say, "We had a nice ride"...
"Your name" on the bus says Let Me Off!

Hints and Tips:

• Poster for this nursery rhyme can be found in the Printables section on this site. See: Rhymes Posters

Two little dickie birds,
Sitting on a wall;

One named Peter,
One named Paul.

Fly away Peter!
Fly away Paul!

Come Back Peter!
Come Back Paul!

Alternative Lyrics:

There were two blackbirds
Sat upon a hill,

The one was nam'd Jack,
The other nam'd Gill;

Fly away Jack,
Fly away Gill,

Come again Jack,
Come again Gill

Hints and Tips:

• Poster for this nursery rhyme can be found in the Printables section on this site. See: Rhymes Posters
• The hand actions for this song are:

Line #1 Both of the exposed, marked, fingers are wiggled to attract attention 
Line #2 Wiggle one marked finger, Peter, to attract attention
Line #3 Wiggle other marked finger, Paul, to attract attention 
Line #4 The Peter hand is quickly drawn back alongside the adult’s head. As part of the movement the adult folds the marked finger and sticks out the second finger of the same hand and drops the hand back down to the original position. The child sees that the marking, Peter, is no longer there – it has flown away 
Line #5 The action is repeated with the other hand Line #6 The action is reversed to make Peter reappear Line #7 The action is reversed to make Paul reappear.

Alice the camel has five humps.
Alice the camel has five humps.
Alice the camel has five humps.

So go, Alice, go.

Alice the camel has four humps.
Alice the camel has four humps.
Alice the camel has four humps.

So go, Alice, go.

Alice the camel has three humps.
Alice the camel has three humps.
Alice the camel has three humps.

So go, Alice, go.

Alice the camel has two humps.
Alice the camel has two humps.
Alice the camel has two humps.

So go, Alice, go.

Alice the camel has one hump.
Alice the camel has one hump.
Alice the camel has one hump.

So go, Alice, go.

Alice the camel has no humps.
Alice the camel has no humps.
Alice the camel has no humps.

Now Alice is a horse.

Alternative Lyrics:

• Instead of So go Alice go change to So Ride Alice Ride
• At the end of each verse sing Boom Boom Boom
• Substitute Alice for Sally

Hints and Tips:

• This classic children's song works well to reinforce counting.
• Actions -  When in a group, everyone should get in as close to a circle as possible and put their arms over the shoulders of the people next to them. While the saying of each number of humps everyone bends at the knees. During the lines "Boom, Boom, Boom," everyone bangs hips against each other. Or to do individually, show five fingers when you sing "5 humps," then four, three, etc. Sway your hips from side to side on the "boom, boom, boom."